Gunpoint arrest made

May 05, 2003 12:00 am

A suspect is taken into custody yesterday on suspicion of burglary and drug possession. The suspect collapsed while fleeing from police and was taken to Sutter Coast Hospital for treatment. (Stephen M. Corley/The Daily Triplicate).

By Kent Gray

Triplicate staff writer

After a foot pursuit, officers in Crescent City had to draw their weapons to take a suspected drug dealer into custody yesterday.

Stephen Cooley, of Crescent City, was arrested for possession of narcotics and was admitted to Sutter Coast Hospital for treatment, according to police.

The chase began when Deputy Frank Villarreal of the Del Norte County Sheriff's Department responded to an unrelated call in the vicinity.

"When I got onto El Dorado (Street), I saw a subject running eastbound onto Murphy Avenue. I followed him and saw him trying to force his way into a house," said Villarreal. "I identified myself and drew my weapon, but he took off again."

Villarreal chased the suspect until he was stopped by a neighbor's fence.

"He ran into that six-foot fence straight on  he went straight into it," Villarreal said. "I asked him to show me his hands and he wouldn't. That's when he started shoving things into his mouth."

Officers said the suspect soon began to show indications of an overdose and he was transported to the hospital. Villarreal said the suspect is suspected of having methamphetamines and Oxycontin in his possession. A large amount of cash was also found.

Why the suspect was running when Villarreal arrived is only a guess, he said.

"It was unrelated to the call I was going to. He just happened to be there running down the street ... he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Villarreal said.